Servants' Stories: Life Below Stairs in their Own Words 1800-1950

Step into the world of domestic service and discover what life was really like for these unsung heroines (and heroes) of society. Between 1800 and 1950, the role of servants changed dramatically but they remained the people without whom the upper and middle classes could not function. Through oral histories, diaries, newspaper reports and never before seen testimony, domestic servants tell their stories, warts and all - Downton, it isn’t!

• Revenge on a mistress with a box of beetles

• The despair and loneliness of a 14 year old maid

• The adventure of moving to London to go into service

• An escape from an unhappy home life

Find out about the ‘servant problem’ and how servants found work; how National Insurance began to improve their lot; the impact WW1 had on domestic service; and what was done to try to make the occupation appealing to a new generation.